As technology in the automotive industry has advanced, vehicle features have increasingly become driver or passenger controllable. Components once controlled manually are now progressively automated, and many new customizable features are now readily available in modern vehicles. A driver may now, for example, adjust the height of a steering wheel to preference, or program vehicle doors to automatically lock at a particular time. Though such features are intended to make the use of a vehicle more enjoyable or efficient, the customization (personalization of vehicle feature settings) or adjustment process can sometimes be less than intuitive causing confusion on the part of the operator or driver of the vehicle.
User manuals and informational compact discs explaining the operation of vehicles and their customizable features are well-known. The effectiveness of such tools, however, is limited, and while a helpful salesperson may explain the use of certain features to a customer, it is often impractical for the salesperson to explain the controls for every particular feature, or for a buyer to remember how to operate a large number of controls after a brief tutorial.
In an effort to make customizable vehicular features more understandable, accessible, and manageable, various automated control systems have been employed. In general, such devices utilize an onboard computer and an interface comprised of a display device and at least one user input. A control system may, for example, employ a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) odometer display to show feature option codes and control buttons or use of the vehicle's trip stem switch. A user may, for example, press control buttons to enter personalization menus, navigate feature options, and make selections. When selections are made there is feedback to the operator that the selection was made (both audible and textual on the display presenting the features and options).
Alternatively, on some vehicles the trip stem switch is used. The trip stem is pressed and held to enter the personalization menu list which comprises numerical feature codes and option codes, and the feature code begins to flash. The user may sequentially scroll through the numbers until a code representing the feature to be adjusted is found, briefly press the trip stem, and subsequently select the desired feature by pressing and holding the trip stem. Pressing and holding the trip stem again at a feature code results in entering the options selection mode where the current option code will be flashing. Similarly, a user may then sequentially scroll through the option codes representing various setting for modes for the selected vehicular feature and select amongst them by pressing and holding the trip stem. After selection, a processor associated with the control system signals the corresponding vehicle feature to accomplish the desired adjustment. When selections are made there is an audible feedback to the driver that the selection was made.
Though control systems of the type described above provide a single interface capable of controlling several features, such control units may still be confusing and cumbersome to use. Consequently, control systems with more advanced interfaces were developed. One such control system, referred to as a Driver Information Center (DIC), allows a user to navigate several levels of menus displayed on an LCD screen capable of displaying several lines of characters. The user may scroll through a first level menu with a first button, make selections and advance to the next level menu with a second button, or return to the previous menu with a third button. The number of buttons used to navigate the menus may vary by vehicle. After the user navigates the menus and makes a selection, the DIC computer will send a message (e.g. “lock all doors”) to the module associated with the corresponding feature which is stored in a memory (e.g. “lock all doors when shift out of park”).
While control systems such as a DIC are more easily understood than control systems with less advanced displays, displayed messages may still be relatively cryptic and confusing to a user due to system restraints (e.g. displayable character limitations). While larger screens capable of displaying more characters may help mitigate this problem, such displays are expensive to employ. Such control systems also provide little or no positive user feedback during the personalization or customization process. Furthermore, as the hierarchy of menus employed by control systems becomes increasingly complex (i.e. as the number of customizable features available on a particular vehicle grows), it becomes more likely that a user will forget or have difficulty navigating the proper path to adjust a particular feature.
It should thus be appreciated that it would be desirable to provide a vehicular on-board system capable of adjusting a plurality of customizable vehicular features that is relatively easy to understand and operate.